Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Big Plays Abound at Football Scrimmage Saturday at McAndrew Stadium
08/14/2004 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 14, 2004
By Scott Mees
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University football team held an intrasquad scrimmage in front of approximately 300 fans Saturday at McAndrew Stadium. Photo Gallery The defense looked solid in drills and the scrimmage, including sophomore safety Marlon Heaston, who had a pair of interceptions within a few plays of each other. "It felt great," Heaston said. "We're just getting in shape. I just want to execute, and learn from my mistakes." Heaston jumped high in the air to pick off a pass over the middle by sophomore Curtis Holley. Moments later, Heaston intercepted a ball thrown by freshman quarterback Jon Cairns. Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys was pleased with his defense, but knows there's work ahead. "At corner, I think we covered the deep ball better than we had, which is good for us to see," Claeys said. "Marlon Heaston had a good night. We didn't play very well in short yardage tonight, so we need to get that taken care of here in the next couple of weeks." Senior defensive tackle Lionel Williams, who picked up a sack, is primed and ready for his final season as a Saluki. "It always feels good to get to the quarterback," Williams said. "We had a crowd out here, and it kind of intensified things a little bit." Junior all-conference quarterback Joel Sambursky threw a 20-yard completion to junior wide receiver Brent Little, but also threw an interception. The quarterback didn't hold back on his feelings about himself during the practice. "I'm just a little frustrated because I made some mistakes," Sambursky said. "I think it's just being in a new environment and scrimmaging in front of people." Sambursky is used to some early season rustiness, but knows it won't carry over into the regular season. "This happens every year at the first scrimmage," Sambursky said. "Every year the offense is just a little behind the defense. We want to make the mistakes now and not in three weeks." Minnesota transfer Terry Jackson, a running back, has been banged up a bit in practice this week, but made a nice showing at the scrimmage. The senior ran up the middle before breaking to the outside for a 35-yard gain. "It felt real good to get back out there with my teammates," Jackson said. "I'm just glad to be a part of this big family." Another highly touted transfer, senior running back Brandon Jacobs, made several nice runs, and a nice catch. Jacobs caught a short ball from Sambursky, over the middle, then headed for the sideline and took it all the way. "The offense still has a lot of stuff to work on," Jacobs said. "For the first scrimmage I think we did pretty well though. We've got a great defense." Jacobs, who transferred from Auburn, doesn't bring any I-A football swagger with him. He just makes plays and lets his actions on the field do the talking. "I really love it here," Jacobs said. "You've got a lot of great people here in southern Illinois. I love Coach Kill to death because he'd do anything for you." Saluki head coach Jerry Kill could care less about the accomplishments of last year's team; his sole focus is on what's happening right here and right now. "It's pretty much typical of your first scrimmage only coming in practicing for a week," Kill said. "It was very sloppy on one side of the ball and very good on the other side of the ball. "We've got a long way to go to be a good football team, so we'll go back to work and see what we need to do to get better."
